Could a Kentucky school council elect a chair other than its principal under an approved alternative model?
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This page answers the general question as of 1993. Ask about yours and see what current Kentucky law means for your facts, with citations you can check.
Plain-English summary
In 1993, Kentucky's Attorney General said a school-based decision-making council could elect a chair other than the principal or head teacher if the school obtained approval for an alternative model under KRS 160.345(7). The ordinary council structure named the principal or head teacher as chair. The AG treated chair selection as part of the administrative structure that the alternative-model provision allowed a school to change.
The opinion distinguished the chair's meeting role from the principal's underlying responsibilities. It said the chair presided over meetings and had no extra voting weight, while the principal or head teacher remained the school's primary administrator and instructional leader.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1993. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Historical summary
School councils
The AG read the chair requirement as part of the council's administrative structure. Under the version of KRS 160.345(7) quoted in the opinion, a school could submit an alternative model describing council membership, organization, duties, and responsibilities. Approval could permit the council to elect any of its members as chair.
Principals and head teachers
The AG said electing someone else to preside at meetings did not displace the principal's or head teacher's separate status as primary administrator and instructional leader. The chair had no stronger vote than another council member.
Education officials
The opinion described the statutory route as submission through the local board of education to the chief state school officer and the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education, which had final approval authority. The quoted 1993 provision also required evidence of participation by parents, students, certified personnel, and administrators, plus agreement by two-thirds of faculty.
Common questions
Did a Kentucky school council have to keep the principal as chair in 1993?
The ordinary structure did, but the AG said an approved alternative model could let the council elect another member.
Could a council change its chair without state approval?
The opinion described an application through the local board and chief state school officer for final State Board approval. It did not say a council could bypass that process.
Did an elected chair become the school's chief administrator?
No. The AG said the principal or head teacher remained the primary administrator and instructional leader, regardless of who chaired the council.
Did the council chair get an extra vote?
No. The opinion said the chair's vote carried no greater weight than that of any other council member.
Background and statutory framework
Vic Hellard Jr. asked whether the State Board could approve two alternative models that allowed school councils to elect chairs. The AG contrasted KRS 160.345(2)(b)'s usual chair rule with subsection (7)'s authority to approve alternative administrative structures. It concluded that the chair selection could change under that provision while the principal's duties under subsection (2)(c) remained.
Citations and references
- KRS 160.345(2)(a): ordinary council membership described in the opinion.
- KRS 160.345(2)(b): ordinary principal or head-teacher chair rule.
- KRS 160.345(7): alternative model and approval process.
- KRS 160.345(2)(c): principal or head teacher's administrative and instructional roles.
Source
Original opinion text
OAG 93-52
July 2, 1993
Vic Hellard, Jr., Director
Legislative Research Commission
State Capitol
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Dear Mr. Hellard:
You have written our office regarding an interpretation of the Kentucky school-based decision making statute KRS 160.345. This statute requires that the SBDM council membership be composed of the principal or administrator, three teachers and two parents. KRS 160.345(2)(a). Additionally, this statute provides that the principal or head teacher shall be the chair of this school council. KRS 160.345(2)(b).
You explain that the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education has recently approved two alternative models that allow the specific school councils to elect their chairs rather than requiring the principal or head teacher to serve as a chair.
You question whether the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education had authority to approve the alternative models allowing the SBDM Council to elect the chair.
The SBDM statute allows schools which have school-based decision making but would like to be exempt from the "administrative structure" set forth by KRS 160.345 to develop an alternative model for implementing school-based decision making. KRS 160.345(7). This subsection provides in full:
A school that chooses to have school-based decision making but would like to be exempt from the administrative structure set forth by this section may develop a model for implementing school-based decision making including, but not limited to, a description of the membership, organization, duties, and responsibilities of a school council. The school shall submit the model through the local board of education to the chief state school officer and the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education, which shall have final authority for approval. The application for approval of the model shall show evidence that it has been developed by representatives of the parents, students, certified personnel, and the administrators of the school and that two-thirds (2/3) of the faculty have agreed to the model.
KRS 160.345(7).
It is the opinion of this office that the statutory provision requiring that the principal or head teacher serve as chair of the school council is part of the administrative structure of the council and may be altered with the approval of the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education. KRS 160.345(7). The role of chair for the school council has no special statutory duties and is the council member responsible for presiding over the council meetings.. The vote of the council chair carries no greater weight than any other council member. Of course, the principal or head teacher continues to remain the "primary administrator" and the "instructional leader" of the school. KRS 160.345(2)(c).
Accordingly, pursuant to KRS 160.345(7) a school may apply to be exempt from the SBDM administrative structure to allow the SBDM council to elect any member as a chair by submitting an administrative model through the appropriate channels to the Chief State School Officer and the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education.
Sincerely yours,
CHRIS GORMAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Lynne Schroering
Assistant Attorney General
(502) 564-7600
VLS:v
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